


Galvatron Gets A Hobby

by Sophisticated_Adult



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Alcoholism, Crack Treated Seriously, Crossover, Depression, Fix-It, Galvatron being Galvatron as hard as he can, M/M, and other such things from Roddy's shitty IDW ending, if canon doesn't treat your fave right, then you take them elsewhere, via Galvatron if necessary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:22:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23872303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sophisticated_Adult/pseuds/Sophisticated_Adult
Summary: In which Galvatron has dimension-hopping powers and obviously uses these powers for good, andobviouslythis includes stealing Rodimus from theExitusbecause lmao fuck that noise. (A G1-IDW crossover that may or may not be taking itself Very Seriously Thank You)
Relationships: Galvatron/Rodimus Prime
Comments: 13
Kudos: 64





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Originally based off a text shitpost on my tumblr that grew a little out of hand. I was never intending to put this up on AO3 as it was just a silly (and incredibly self-indulgent) thing that wasn't really intended to have a beginning middle and end, but after seeing a post about fics being difficult to locate on tumblr and AO3 being, well, an archive, I thought people might appreciate it being posted here.
> 
> No new content from what's already on tumblr I'm afraid, but at least you don't have to deal with tumblr.
> 
> If it gets confusing: POV Roddy is IDW, ‘other’ Roddy & Cyclonus are G1.

Rodimus stopped dead. After all he’d been told, the last person in any universe he’d ever expect to be anywhere near Galvatron was right in front of him.

“ _Cyclonus?_ ” he asked, dumbfounded, and was even more so as the purple jet turned and honest-to-god _bowed_ to him.

“Prime,” Cyclonus replied, rising out of his bow and inclining his head to acknowledge the other Rodimus, who nodded back to him. “It’s good to see you up. I will inform Lord Galvatron at once.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, _stop_ this crazy train, I want to get off.” Rodimus leaned forward to grip the jet’s arm. “Cyclonus, what the frag? How’d they get you? I – slag, is Tailgate all right?! Where is he?”

“Ah.” There was a long pause as Cyclonus and the other Rodimus shared A Look over his head, while Rodimus held on out of a lack of anything else that was solid right now, and slowly got that oh-I’ve-just-done-something- _really_ -stupid feeling he was getting less and less good at ignoring these days.

“I believe there’s a misunderstanding,” Cyclonus said, so unbelievably _gently_ it made Rodimus stare all over again. “I’m not the Cyclonus you know. Lord Galvatron has informed me of how your version of me is, and while I disagree with his choices, I am pleased that he is happy.”

“Oh.” Rodimus felt numb, still gripping the jet’s arm, and only then noticed the Decepticon decals. _Definitely_ not his Cyclonus, then. “Uh, yeah.” He glanced back up. “Sorry about that.” He gingerly let go, something rotten twisting inside him as he stepped back. This wasn’t right. After everything, here was Cyclonus, just...back to square one, with no Tailgate in sight. It felt wrong on so many levels it made him want to scream. There were differences, now he could get a proper look. This Cyclonus seemed almost new, shiny in a way Rodimus’ version never was, but the stiff formality and exact precision in the way he spoke was uncomfortably familiar.

“Just...” Rodimus raised his arms and let them fall back against his sides, a gesture that, on the Lost Light, generally translated to ‘welp’. “That’s it, then? You’re at Galvatron’s beck and call?”

Cyclonus just chuckled. “Don’t concern yourself with me, Prime. I’m all right.” Rodimus twitched, because he wasn’t letting _that_ get by. “Uh, can you not call me that? Just Rodimus is fine. It’s – yeah.” _It’s just going to make me think of Optimus_ held back in his head, taunting him for being too cowardly to say it.

“Of course,” Cyclonus replied breezily, no trace of offence taken at Rodimus essentially badmouthing his entire life. “However, Lord Galvatron is very fond of making sure the universe knows full well your importance, so he may be reluctant at first, but I am sure he will respect your wishes if you remind him of them.”

“I’m not going to pretend I understood any of that.” Rodimus looked up at his other self, who had a fond smile. “So what’s your deal? You’re his prisoner, too?”

“Not unless he wants to be,” Cyclonus cut in with a smirk. Now _that_ was new; it caught Rodimus off guard, but his other self spoke while he floundered.

“Oh, come on, Cyc, it's not 2007 anymore, aren't we a bit past all the kidnapping?” 

Cyclonus' red optics flicked up to the other – ah, frag it, he was just going to mentally call him Big Rodimus from now on – and the smirk changed to – something else, something clearly understood by both parties that Rodimus couldn't make heads or tails of. “If you say so,” Cyclonus demurred. “The choice is always yours, Prime.”

“As a kidnapping victim I object to this conversation,” Rodimus said, hoping to change tracks before things took an even weirder turn. “So, uh. What happens now?” 

“Cyclonus, can you wait on comming Galvatron? I know he needs to rest after he goes universe-hopping, and I know if he knows Rodimus here is up and about it's going to be impossible to get him to power down, so...we let him actually get some recharge, and I can introduce you to the others?”

“What others?” Honestly Rodimus would rather meet Galvatron first so he could give him a good punch to the face for – for whatever the absolute _fuck_ all this was, but it might be an idea to have more of a complete picture before he confronted the big G.

“The other – 'us'-es, I suppose. You're the third he's picked up.”

“This still makes no sense,” Rodimus said, just to make sure everyone was on the same page.

“Lord Galvatron operates to his own logic, and the universe follows,” Cyclonus offered. Rodimus shook his head. Complete nonsense.


	2. Chapter 2

Big Rodimus lead them down samey looking hallways – Cyclonus disappeared down one to go do whatever it was he did when his precious _~Lord Galvatron~_ was out of commission – until he stopped at one door that would look identical to all the others, except someone had very crudely painted flames and yellow splotches that might have been meant to be stars on the bottom half. 

“Rodders!” Big Rodimus knocked. “Are you OK to come out? I've got someone to meet you!”

“Coming!” A high voice was muffled through the door, and a few seconds later it was pushed open. “Oh, hey! New guy! You look really cool! I'm Hot Rod!” Oh dear _Primus,_ he was _tiny_. 

“Uh – Rodimus,” he managed, and had to crouch a little to take the mini's(?) unhesitatingly outstretched hand, which was vigorously shaken with little input on his part. 

“Cool! Nice to meetcha! I'm still the only Hot Rod here!” the little pink mech said, puffed up and proud. Rodimus nodded, having no idea what to say to that, when Big Rodimus tapped his shoulder.

“Hot Rod here was caught up in an anti-homelessness purge. Galvatron took him right from his cell.”

“Yeah it sucks, I'm lying low here until they like give up on me or something, I mean I hope my pals are okay but they're all really cool and can totally take care of themselves, I was just a big dummy who got caught. Do you know Arcee? She could totally take the entire Senate by herself, I swear.”

“Uh, yeah, I know _an_ Arcee,” Rodimus replied, while he leaned towards Big Rodimus and mouthed, “ _purge?_ ” 

Big Rodimus nodded, murmuring back, “ _I don't think he understands how much danger he was in._ ”

Rodimus shuddered a little at the thought of this tiny mech, alone in some gross cell, awaiting 'processing'. 

“We'll see you later, okay?” Big Rodimus knelt down to receive an enthusiastic high-five. “I'm introducing him to everyone.” 

“Okay! Say hi to Roddy for me!” Hot Rod waved at them as they moved on. After the click of the door closing, Rodimus turned to make sure he'd gone back into his room, then hissed: “What the _frag?_ He's a _kid!”_

“And he'd be dead or worse if Galvatron hadn't stepped in,” Big Rodimus calmly replied. “That's – kind of what we're dealing with here. He leaves well enough alone if he sees a – me, I suppose – who's genuinely happy and doesn't need someone stepping in to whisk them away.”

“What, and I _did?!”_ Rodimus spluttered, like there was any comparison to him fucking up his own life and _that_. 

Big Rodimus just shrugged. “You'll have to ask him. He makes the call.”

Not having any comeback to that, Rodimus stewed in furious silence until they arrived at a door that, this time, did look just like any of the others. Big Rodimus's voice was much gentler this time as he knocked.

“Rodimus?” He waited a beat, then: “Is it all right if we come in?” Rodimus didn't hear anything, but Big Rodimus nodded after a moment and then slowly pushed the door open. The room inside was as impeccable and spartan as the one Rodimus had woken up in, the only splash of colour being – 

Primus.

This new Rodimus didn't look right at _all_. He was only about a head shorter than Rodimus, but so stick-thin and fragile-looking he managed to seem smaller than Hot Rod, who at least had his big personality going for him.

Huge blue optics took up nearly his entire face, and his complete lack of back-kibble made it impossible to tell if he even had an alt-mode; surely he lacked the mass? All in all, he was the frailest mech Rodimus had ever seen in his entire life; he looked as though a gentle breeze could topple him over with barely a afterthought.

“Rodimus,” Big Rodimus said, a soft kindness in his voice, “this is, er, Rodimus, he's going to be staying with us for a while.”

“Oh, it's lovely to meet you,” the new Rodimus said, smiling shyly. 

“Are you – all right?” Rodimus blurted, then immediately wanted to kick himself, but – but surely someone the same species as him shouldn't look like _this_. But the other Rodimus only smiled more. 

“No-one ever asked me that before, you know,” he said demurely. “It's wonderful here.” 

“Good to hear,” Big Rodimus grinned. “Just dropping in, but we're around if you need anything.” 

“Of course,” the other Rodimus murmured as Big Rodimus steered them out. The door closed, and Rodimus felt like a broken record as he exclaimed: “Okay, seriously, _what_ the _frag_ was _that?!_ That – that's _not_ normal, I'm sorry, but –” 

“Easy.” Big Rodimus held his hands out, letting Rodimus catch himself. “We – we know. He's going to be getting a proper frame upgrade when First Aid is sure he'll be able to handle it. But they didn't –” 

For the first time since meeting him, real anger blossomed in Big Rodimus' field. “He was raised in the temple; he was supposed to be a sacrifice to the Matrix. Why bother with things like nutrition and frame upgrades for someone who's going to die anyway?” Big Rodimus scuffed the floor with his foot in a pretty damn muted gesture, given what he'd just fragging _said_. “Galvatron put a stop to that. And if it makes you feel any better, he destroyed that universe's Matrix, then torched the place. Told – well, yelled at – the crowds outside to go worship something worthwhile. Then he stormed off carrying Roddy.” Big Rodmus sighed. “I wish I could have been there to do – something. I don't know. But at least he's safe here.” 

“Yeah,” Rodimus replied, more than a little shook at what he'd just heard. “Okay. All right. I'll give him those two. But _me?_ ”

“You.” Big Rodimus sighed, releasing all the tension in his frame. “Like I said, he makes the call. He's the one with the dimension-hopping ability, and this is what he's decided to use it for. I come by to check up on things. It all sounds completely absurd when you hear it for the first time, but it's hard to argue with when you see what it actually means in practice. And it keeps him occupied; he's not out conquering planets this way.” 

“Lovely,” Rodimus muttered. Okay, so there were mixed feelings here, but at least one punch was still definitely in order.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think in general G1 bots are supposed to be smaller than IDW, but not in this headcanon babey

There was a slight flaw in the plan: Galvatron was fragging _huge_. If Big Rodimus looked like he could give Megatron a run for his money, Galvatron would comfortably be able to go toe-to-toe with Ultra Magnus – and if Rodimus was honest, he wasn't sure he'd ever 100% believed Drift's stuff about auras, but Galvatron _exuded_ power and complete confidence in such a way that Mags wasn't even a sure bet.

“Ah, Prime!” Galvatron boomed. “Good to see you up! You look better already!”

“Uh – thanks?” Of all things, he hadn't expected a – compliment? But – no, he couldn't get distracted. “Look, just what is all this _about?_ ”

“Why, you, of course!” Galvatron seemed genuinely surprised. “Did my Prime and Cyclonus not adequately explain things to you?”

“No, I mean yes, I mean _why?_ Why me? Those two – that was life or death, I'm, I'm not –”

“Prime,” Galvatron interrupted, not quite gentle, but maybe skirting at the edges of it, like a star's ripped-away body spiralling around a black hole. “I'll explain, then, as best I can. I – saw you, for a while, before I took action. I thought you were doing well. Do you remember the killswitch? Saving half the Cybertronian race? 'Making amends'?” 

“I – yes – you were there?” It felt so long ago that it may as well have been a different mech, but Galvatron was looking at him with such intensity there would be no argument as to its importance. Galvatron nodded once, definitively. “None can see, hear or interact with me when I'm in a different universe. Only when I _choose_ to touch, do I become physical, and then I take a quick step backwards with my prize.” His expression was serious, frowning. “Your speech then convinced me to let you make your own choice. I thought one so strong-willed to _live_ would not need my intervention, if both your eyes were open and you were walking fully aware down your path. So, I left. I was proud that day.” 

Rodimus stared. Where had all of _that_ come from? He opened his mouth without even knowing what to say, but Galvatron held up a hand. 

“I've been honing this power of mine. But it takes me to unexpected places. I saw you again, recently, and you were – changed.” 

Rodimus looked down at his feet. “A lot of stuff happened,” he mumbled, feeling pathetic even as the words left his mouth.

“Yes. Things change; I have learned this. Already, I see a better change in you today than when I saw you then. _Lifeless._ I would not see your fire go out, Prime. That is my reasoning.”

Oh.

Well, then.

Galvatron was clearly the kind of mech, who, when he wanted something, was _dead-set_ on it, and he had the power and strength to back that desire up. And if what he wanted, right now, was to loudly tell the universe to _back off_ from Rodimus, well, that sounded kind of okay, actually.

“One thing, though? It's Rodimus. Not Prime. Cyclonus said!” Rodimus jabbed a finger at the great purple hulk of a mech before he could go on about Rodimus' 'importance' or whatever. “He said you'd go with it if I told you enough times, so this is time number one. Don't call me Prime.” He mock-glared, and yeah, maybe Galvatron had a point, when was the last time he'd spoken with this much energy in his voice? It had to be before the trial, at least. Galvatron's optics met his, and for a silent moment they blazed.

“Very well – Rodimus. Now – I was thinking. Perhaps you may be interested in a demonstration?”

“Huh?”

“Of my power,” Galvatron explained. “What it is like, to observe you in another universe. Perhaps we can make a rescue, if one is needed.”

“What, right now?”

“Unless you would prefer to do something else.”

In full fairness, Rodimus _did_ pause a little bit before jumping headfirst into the unknown. But then that mental image of little Hot Rod, alone in the dark, and _I would not see your fire go out_ rattled around him in Galvatron's voice.

 _Galvatron doesn't lie,_ Big Rodimus had told him. _He doesn't need to. So whatever he says, he means it. Completely._

“Yeah, actually,” Rodimus said, and held out his hand. 


	4. Chapter 4

He took Galvatron’s offered hand without a moment of hesitation, and immediately the world began to get _weird_ , distorting and hazy as it changed and shifted around them.

“No-one will be able to see or hear us,” Galvatron explained like it was nothing special, totally normal, I-do-this-all-the-time.

“Cool, got it,” Rodimus replied, then blinked as the world slowly began to make sense again.

He took a step back, suddenly clutching Galvatron’s hand in a deathgrip, when he recognised the walls of the Lost Light – his own habsuite, even – and a situation so familiar it made his tanks churn: himself facing down Megatron in a shouting match.

“Pri – Rodimus? Are you all right?” Galvatron asked, actual concern in his voice ( _“No-one ever asked me that before,”_ his treacherous processor reminded him).

“Fine,” Rodimus lied through gritted teeth. “Great.” It hadn’t occurred to him that he could run into, well, _him_ , instead of some far-flung alternate version in clear danger to be easily swept up and rescued. It was _very_ unpleasant to watch the way Megatron’s expression was twisted in a scowl like that.

Rodimus blinked again, however, when what they were actually _saying_ came into focus.

“I don’t fragging _care!”_ The other Rodimus exclaimed, waving his arms angrily. “They can all just, just deal with it! And I don’t _care_ if it pisses off Optimus, it’s his damn fault you’re on this ship in the first place!”

“Easy, my sun,” Megatron said, and suddenly it clicked that this was _different_. Megatron wasn’t looming, driving the other Rodimus to curl into himself and flinch away. They were – it wasn’t each other they were upset with. This became _very_ clear when Megatron lifted his hands and pulled his co-captain into a hug, one that was quickly and fiercely returned as Rodimus watched his other self bury his face against Megatron’s expansive chest.

“No _way,”_ he said, staring as it all slid into place.

“We’ll work it out,” Megatron murmured, softly running his hands across his Rodimus’ spoiler in a way that definitely didn’t light up any slight jealousy that Rodimus himself hadn’t been touched like that in, oh, forever.

“Me and _Megs?”_ He asked, just to be sure it wasn’t just him hallucinating and Galvatron was seeing this as well.

“It appears so,” Galvatron said. “However, it seems you’re not in any danger right now. We should move on.”

“Yeah,” Rodimus replied, still staring. Wow. This was – not something he would ever have thought would be possible, but hey, infinite universes and all that. “Well, I – I hope they work it out.”

Galvatron made an incommital nose; that was all the warning before Rodimus’ vision started going screwy again. This time he squeezed his eyes shut, and when he opened them after a beat the walls of the Lost Light were replaced with a much smaller room. It was in a familiar state of organised chaos, so familiar it made Rodimus’ spark stutter-ache just ever so slightly as he took in the sight of stacked books and papers and notes – some of which were just straight-up doodles – tacked onto other notes on the wall.

There were two human figures present in the little room. One was sat down at a large piano, hands moving over the keys – clearly not an expert but also not half bad, certainly better than anything Rodimus could ever do with it. The other human was leaning one arm on the piano and the other (a little sassily, Rodimus thought) held against his hip, one leg crossed over the other while he stood – he looked as though he ought to fall over at any minute.

 _Okay but why are we here_ bounced around in his head, maybe Galvatron didn’t have all that much control over his power, but something inside Rodimus must have been paying attention because it suddenly clicked that, while it wasn’t an exact match, the human playing the piano had enough of a similarity with his own holomatter avatar to put two and two together.

“Oh,” Rodimus said, just as the _human_ (!) Rodimus stopped playing, and the other human leaned even further forward – how was he even doing that, Rodimus was half-tempted to copy the pose just to see how it balanced out, but his thoughts short-circuited when the other human spoke and there was _no_ mistaking that voice in any universe.

“Not bad,” who else could it possibly be but _Starscream_ said, a grin slashed across his features. “You’ve actually been practising.”

“A little bit, yeah,” the human Rodimus said, accompanied by the fake laugh still recognisable across species as the one where he was nervous but trying _really hard_ to play it cool. “Think I’m getting there.”

“Hmm.” Starscream brought the hand from his hip to his chin in a mock-thinking pose. “Remind me, what happens if you lose this little bet again?”

Human Rodimus looked away and down at the keys. “I have to take Zeta up on his offer.”

“And you don’t want to take Zeta up on his offer.” It wasn’t a question; Stascream spoke like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Fuck no, have you ever met him? Guy’s a mega-creep.” The human Rodimus shuddered, but recovered magnificently with false bravado. “I just gotta do this one concert, easy, no prob. Then I’m free.”

“Well the good news is you’re not a total loss.” And here piano-talk took over, which Rodimus took as the opportunity to get his jaw off the floor and hiss, “ _why_.”

“Hm?” Galvatron replied without looking at him, still assessing the scene with calculating optics.

“Why are we _humans_ and why is _Starscream_ giving me _piano lessons_.”

This time Galvatron did turn his head to look at him, lips quirked up in a smile as the human Rodimus started to pick out notes again across the room, pausing to let Starscream say something every now and then. “Infinite possibilities,” he said. “I think you’re quite safe here, however. Shall we?”

“Uh, yeah,” Rodimus said, taking one last glance at the bizarre scene. “But, hey, can we come back at some point? I wanna see me rock this concert and kick Zeta’s aft.”

“I’ll make a note of it,” Galvatron chuckled. “Come, Rodimus.” And it didn’t feel strange at all, this time, to take Galvatron’s arm and watch his vision swim until they were back on Chaar.

“Huh?” Rodimus said, blinking away the weirdness until everything looked normal. “Why are we back here? What if the next me’s in serious trouble?”

Galvatron sighed. “I have promised my Prime and my lieutenants: only two at a time. Otherwise, it becomes too easy to be lost in _just one more_.” The massive Decepticon shook his head. “It is not a pleasant experience.”

“Oh.” Rodimus paused, remembering what Big Rodimus had said about Galvatron needing to take breaks and rest after using his power. Probably for the best, then. “Well, thanks,” he said, surprised at how much he meant it. “It was, uh, interesting.”

A quick, shark-tooth grin that actually looked _very_ nice on the big guy was his reward, as much as it was there and gone like lightning flashing in the dark. “Ah, Rodimus,” Galvatron said, “you always are.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, it turns out I lied because I still had an unfinished scrap floating around on my computer that I'm unlikely to go back to at this point (barring nice comments inspiring me, wink wink) so here's the last piece written for this (never seen before on tumblr!) and some bonus notes at the end for what I was planning. 
> 
> (this is where the warnings in the tags actually come into play, if they're ones that affect you)

Rodimus couldn’t sleep. On a normal day on the _Exitus_ , he’d have had enough engex to guarantee he’d be out like a light after falling face-first onto the berth. There hadn’t seemed to be any when Galvatron had called them all to a meal, introducing another of his lieutenants, Scourge, who had facial hair that made it impossible not to think of Minimus Ambus. Being the newcomer, Rodimus didn’t really want to ask for the stuff directly - and at the time he’d actually been feeling kind of OK despite spending an entire day sober - but now he was starting to wish he had a bottle in his hands, because it was that, stay awake, or risk the nightmares, and Rodimus had made sure to spend every night on the _Exitus_ blackout dunk for a reason. Really not wanting to see the parade of his failures that would greet him if he managed to actually fall asleep, Rodimus grimaced and decided to get up. 

Galvatron hadn’t explicitly forbidden wandering around during what passed for a night cycle on a planet with no sun, so Rodimus stretched a little - his whole body felt stiff - and went for the door. If the guy was so hellbent on ‘rescuing’ him, it was hard to imagine him getting mad at anything Rodimus did as long as it wasn’t anything too big, so he decided there wasn’t much harm in exploring. He’d already seen some of the identical-looking corridors - little Hot Rod had the right idea with his decorations, Rodimus thought, eyeing his door as he closed it and feeling an itch to carve something into it. Not just to show off, mark something of himself into the material, but also just to know which door was his. But he didn’t really have anything on him. His one laser scalpel (stolen from he medbay of the _Lost Light_ , naturally) was on the floor of his room on the _Exitus_ , littered amongst the bottles he didn’t bother cleaning away because it wasn’t like he ever expected anyone to come over. Rodimus shrugged, made a mental note to find whatever the equivalent was in this universe, and set to exploring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BONUS ROUND: this kind of thing is the closest I ever get to having a story plan written down lmao
> 
> finds little rodimus who doesn’t like going out in the day for Reasons  
> they wind up in the dining room + meet scourge on patrol  
> go back, falls asleep + has nightmares - last is a melting drift saying ‘why won’t you talk to me’  
> wakes up - realises it’s the last thing drift has said to him since he stopped trying to comm rodimus
> 
> decides to comm drift, doesn’t connect but leaves a message saying he’s ok, feels better + goes to breakfast.
> 
> maybe a bit with hot rod hugging G1 roddy’s legs, says he’s had a nightmare, wants to see his friends to make sure they’re ok. Galv directs himself by focusing on roddy so he says he can try but Hot Rod will have to guide him, its very cute.
> 
> MEANWHILE, OFFSCREEN: drift gets the message, tries to locate him since he’s not on the exitus and it’d be nice to at least know. oh shit the signal isn’t from this universe!!! dun dun dun  
> and that’s how drift bursts in later yelling and probably ratchet is also there

**Author's Note:**

> If you DO want to deal with tumblr then hmu @of-nyon, I'm currently fixating on a 20+ year old Square RPG with a remake this year that _isn't_ FF7 but I swear I still like robots guys, just...just let me have this ok


End file.
